The following are just a few guides and tips to help you with mulching your garden:

• Mulching assists your garden by retaining moisture in the soil, suppressing weeds and protecting the base and roots of your plants.

• Urban stocks a range of mulch including peastraw, five grades of bark chip and four compost products.

• The recommended depth of mulch (ground cover) for gardens in Canterbury is atleast 100mm deep.

• Be careful using saw dust and wood chips as mulch on your garden as when these materials decompose, they can cause a nitrogen deficiency in the soil. Unless you provide additional nitrogen to the soil, your plants are likely to show yellowish foiage and poor growth.

• Peastraw or bark chip are a good alternative to sawdust and wood chip as a safe ground covering mulch to protect the roots of your plant and preserve moisture in the soil.

• Be aware that acid-loving plants such as rhododendrons, camellias, hydrangeas and azaleas do not like fertilizing products such as zoom-gro and mushroom compost. These are organic mushroom based alkaline composts which could burn the base of your shrub causing yellow foliage, poor growth and sometimes even kill the plant. In fertile soils these acid-loving plants can be grown well without further fertilization (and perhaps a protective ground cover such as peastraw or bark mulch). For less fertile soils, ask your garden centre for a fertilizer specifically designed for acid-loving plants.